Soloist SL1 Control Cavity

[Spitfire75]

Hey everyone,

I performed a search but didn't see anything for this, so I apologize if it's already been posted. A few years back, I bought a Soloist SL1 off of Ebay. It came with some kind of Dimarzio pickup in the bridge instead of the usual Seymour Duncan JB, and I was never happy with the way it sounded. So I finally bought a TB-4 JB and attempted to get down to business. When I opened up the control cavity (for the first time since 2006 when I bought the guitar - SHOCKING, I know!) I saw something pretty strange. There is a piece of metal screwed into the side of the control cavity and the humbucker and both single coils are soldered to it. Then there are additional wires that go from that piece of metal to the volume and tone pots. I took some photos, but I'm at work and I left my camera at home, so I'll try to post them later this evening. All of the wiring diagrams I've seen show the pickup wires connecting directly to the volume and tone pots.

So my questions are, is anyone familiar with this configuration? And can anyone post a photo of their control cavity for me so I can see what it's supposed to look like?

Thanks in advance...oh, and the DiMarzio turned out to be a Steve Morse DP200.

[Nimitz]

Sounds like a ground to me... :think:

[Spitfire75]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking...but I only know 2 things about electrical wiring: Jack and Sh!t. And Jack left town. I like your avatar, by the way.

[DonP]

This is common for J/C's.

What you are seeing is grounding wires. Each pickup cavity is painted with shielding paint. These are all linked to the control cavity via those wires.

[Spitfire75]

Ok, that makes sense. But my cavity isn't painted or shielded. I wonder if the person who installed the DiMarzio pickup removed it...
I'm a casual player not a working musician, so do you think it's worth it for me to buy shielding material or paint?

[Spitfire75]

Ok sorry everyone, but I finally got the photos off of my camera. Here's what I was talking about...I guess it does look like a ground, but does everyone's Soloist have this same setup? Or is this something that was done by a guitar tech?

[DonP]

The grounding of the pickup (green and silver) to the ground lug is most likely aftermarket by a tech, but it shouldn't be an issue. It's perfectly legal.

[MetalMedal II]

Ok, that makes sense. But my cavity isn't painted or shielded. I wonder if the person who installed the DiMarzio pickup removed it...

Actually, I'm pretty sure that is shielding paint on the inside of the cavity (the black paint). The screw makes sure there's good contact with the paint to make sure everything's grounded. All that is done stock for higher end Jacksons. Does it have any grounding issues?